.. pretty in pink.

Hi lovelies, today I wanted to post about something a little different, primarily a product review. Makeup is something I love buying and experimenting with but I've not shared much of this on my blog before, so I might consider beauty blogging a late New Year's Resolution.

Today I'm reviewing a product I received over Christmas, a blusher by Topshop called 'Prime Time' - it's a bright pink cream blush that you dot onto your cheeks and blend.

The packaging is really cute. It was packaged in a black box with white polka dots (long gone, I'm afraid) and has a huge mirror inside (always handy) but it's still quite small which is convenient for fitting into my makeup bag.

Though the colour appears bright at first glance, I'm somebody who has been known to use a neon pink Stargazer eyeshadow leftover from a rave party years ago as a blusher - though sparingly, of course - it works surprisingly well actually! However, this is much better, the lasting power is good and it gives a healthy, pretty flush. I like a cream blush as I feel I have more control over how subtle or bright I want it to appear. I've been applying this after foundation and before powder, though powder is mainly applied to my T-zone so I can't credit it for contributing to this product's staying power. I find that with a cream blusher the best way to achieve staying power is layering - applying, blending, and repeating until you have the coverage you want.

Something else I'm keen on about Topshop makeup is that they don't test on animals. Lately I've been trying more actively to seek out cruelty-free makeup and beauty products - it's something I feel strongly about (I'm also vegetarian for moral reasons) but could definitely stand to learn more about. You'd be surprised how many brands you'd think were cruelty-free and are not, so I'm starting to establish which companies to continue buying from. Problematically, though their respective companies claim not to test on animals themselves, my hair dye and foundation (both of which are the kind of item you don't want to change once you've found the perfect one) are sold by brands whose parent companies are not against animal testing which is quite a moral dilemma, but perhaps one for a different blog post. Arcadia's ethics policy is quite interesting and worth a read.

Overall, I'm really pleased with this product, and I'm tempted to try their coral version 'Flush' this summer. I'm just ten followers away now from launching a giveaway of lots of Topshop makeup amongst other things, so stay tuned!